Remediation Lags on Buildings Constructed Like Grenfell Tower January 03, 2020 Work to remediate buildings with similar cladding in the wake of the tragic Grenfell fire in June 2017 in London, England, has been “not as fast as I should like,” said U.K Prime Minister Boris Johnson, speaking to Parliament recently. He criticized, in particular, owners of buildings in the private sector, saying, “Too many building […] Read More
The Independent is Austin’s “Jenga Tower” November 01, 2019 An Akron, Ohio, contractor has been sentenced to three years in prison and $303,152 in restitution after his employee fell three floors to his death without wearing the required fall protection. Jim Coon, owner of Jim Coon Construction, who also failed to provide workers’ compensation coverage, will pay the fine to the Ohio Bureau of […] Read More
FEMA Releases National Mitigation Investment Strategy September 01, 2019 On August 13, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its federal partners released the National Mitigation Investment Strategy (NMIS), a “whole-community approach to investments in mitigation activities and risk management across federal, state, tribal, territorial, and local governments and the private and nonprofit sectors.” For more information, visit https://www.fema.gov/national-mitigation-investment-strategy. Read More
IBHS Forest Fire Test Exposes Building Vulnerabilities September 01, 2019 In March 2019, the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), at its test facility in South Carolina, exposed a fullscale building—one half with fire-resistant materials, and the other half as a traditional bungalow—to a 10-minute windstorm of driven embers. The amazing results can be viewed at https://ibhs.org/wildfire/wildfire-demo-2019/. One half of the house was […] Read More
OSHA’s Use of Drones for Building Inspections Raises Concerns March 03, 2019 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has authorized its inspectors to use camera-equipped unmanned aircraft systems (UAS or drones) to collect evidence during inspections—with the consent of the employer. OSHA guidance states that inspectors must “obtain express consent from the employer” before operating a drone for inspection purposes over a workplace. OSHA says that […] Read More
Cannabis Legality in Canada Means New Safety and Policy Issues for Workers and Employers February 01, 2019 With Canada becoming only the second country in the world (after Uruguay) to legalize the purchase and consumption of cannabis nationwide, employers should review their policies, labor consultants warn. Despite it being legal, employers can still prohibit the use of marijuana in the workplace. Construction workers and consultants working at heights are inherently at risk […] Read More
